Deuteronomy 25:5-10

EasyEnglish Bible

⁵ Perhaps two brothers live together in the same place. One of the brothers may die before he has any son. If that happens, his widow must not marry anyone who does not belong to the family. Instead, the other brother must marry her. That is the right thing for him to do for his dead brother. ⁶ The first son that the widow gives birth to will be the son of her first husband. His family's name will not disappear from Israel.

⁷ But the man may not want to marry his brother's widow. If so, this is what the widow must do: She must go to the leaders when they meet at the town gate. She must say, ‘My dead husband's brother refuses to do his duty for me. He does not want his brother to have any descendants so that his family's name will continue.’

⁸ Then the town's leaders must call the man to come to them. They must talk to him. Perhaps he will continue to say, ‘I do not want to marry her!’

⁹ If that happens, his brother's widow must go near him, as the leaders watch. She must pull off one of his shoes and then she must spit in his face. She must say, ‘This is what we do to a man who will not give descendants to his dead brother!’ ¹⁰ After that, people will call that man's family, ‘the family of the man who lost his shoe.’